Easy Tin Foil Dinners

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 by Christy Denney

These Easy Tin Foil Dinners are sometimes called “Hobo” dinners. They’re tried and true camping meals that are hearty and satisfying.

Let me just start by pointing out the obvious – these are ugly. It’s impossible to make these look pretty. Believe me I tried. But let’s face it – there isn’t much about camping that is pretty. I just went camping two weeks ago up in the mountains and pretty much hung out in my pajamas the whole time with no makeup on and without brushing my hair.

I did make sure to brush my teeth because my sister freaked me out and said that bears can detect food on your breath. The place we camped had signs everywhere for high bear activity so I had my head on a swivel the entire time. I love camping – until the morning. I’m not a morning person as it is and when you’re camping as soon as the first person wakes up, everyone’s awake…and cheery. That’s something I’m definitely not. Oh, but the night! Campfire, s’mores, stories…that I can embrace.

The first night our dinner was an epic fail. A Pinterest epic fail. We tried cooking pizza rolls in foil. The dough burnt in some places and was a doughy mess in others. We definitely won’t be trying those again. The second night we made these tin foil dinners. We called these Hobo dinners growing up. They have beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, and cream of mushroom soup. For some reason, these are absolutely the best thing to eat when you’re camping. Hearty and comforting. It’s hard to screw these up. I made 18 of these ahead of time and froze them for our trip. They transport well in a cooler. Just make sure you try to thaw them a bit before cooking.

The best way to cook these is over coals rather than an open flame. Depending on the size of your patties and veggies it could take from 45-90 minutes. Really, it’s hard to overcook your beef and veggies and you definitely want to error on the side of more cooked.

By the way, is it normal for your hair to smell like fire even after washing it several times? I swear I washed mine 6 times before I got all of the smoke smell out.

Comments

Camping ought to be dirty and smelly. Also, I get freaked out even when I do brush my teeth because I feel like the bears can probably smell my minty toothpaste! And about the hair thing, this is going to sound weird, but it works: Febreeze. Just spray some on your hair a little bit before your shower. It neutralizes odors.

PS I love tin foil dinners!! Nothing beats it when you are tired and sunburned.